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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

I only have one sibling, and that is a younger brother, Patrick. Growing up, we didn't always get along... in fact, if you would have asked me in my later teen years, I would have said that he was quite obnoxious. Four years separate us so his purpose was to drive me crazy, bug my friends and I, listen in on phone conversations while randomly pushing buttons, read my private journals, etc... But isn't that what all younger brothers are supposed to do?

Then, we grew up, got older and did our own things... Not living with one another sure brought us closer and helped us appreciate one another more.

So, when my bro let me know that he was heading back to school, and just got his very own single apartment, I couldn't wait to give him a hand getting settled in.

College kids aren't always blessed with fabulous incomes, high end living or endless amounts of time to work on their spaces {well, some are I suppose... but that is not the case with this post today}. In fact, my brother has a very limited income, a pet who he considers his best friend and he is ready to study and begin his second year of school full time. That meant finding a super inexpensive apartment that would allow for him leave our parent's nest and to move in with his dog. With limited time and money, he found a place to call his own for the next year, and once he moved in boxes upon boxes of belongings, he was a little overwhelmed with what to do next....

The apartment was a small space in the upstairs of a very very old home. Un-level wood floors, plaster walls, outdated appliances and no separate bedroom ... The perfect candidate for my brother, and a makeover!

A makeover on a budget with a little saved up cash, hand me downs from his big sis, a kind sponsor {more on that later} and a landlord that gave us the thumbs up to paint.

But before we could get started with the projects and painting, we had to have a plan. My brother moved in everything he has accumulated since he was born. That is right, my parents sent him off with boxes upon boxes of items from his childhood, including race tracks, board games, a bin of collected rocks {true story}, Matchbox cars and Lincoln Logs. YAY for my parents having the ability to say goodbye of the things they don't want cluttering up their home... boo to the fact that they ended up in the super small apartment.

Of course, these photos make for super fabulous before pictures, but this is what it was. It is a true vision of what happens when there are no effective storage pieces in place, no planned layout, an overwhelming feeling and too many things in too small of a space.

Let's chat about time. When I returned back from our family vacation, my brother let me know he was going to start school exactly a week later. And we both agreed, that in order for him to thrive and get off to a great start, that the apartment should be done. Cleaned, purged, organized, painted and put back together. Not an easy task, we would need a little help. So, I called in my handy hubs to help, and my parents to play with the kiddos so we could tackle the space in fast forward mode. That is tip number one when tackling any project of this magnitude: Don't do it alone. Ask friends and family to help in any way they can, it is far less overwhelming that way.

The first couple of hours that we got together, we purged down majority of the boxes to just the basics. At first, he had a hard time saying goodbye to things. Then, he wanted to sell everything. It took some convincing to remind him that this was not only a fresh start, but also a small place. That majority of the boxes contained items he hadn't seen in years, and would be OK without. That selling everything would be an extremely time consuming process, and that with school quickly approaching, it may be a better idea to sell some of the larger items that had a little value {his extra TV, some extra seating, etc...}, and donate the rest. He came around. When my hubs and I left the first day, we told him that he had three days to get through every. single. box. Tip number two: Be realistic about your time. Purge items in a way that makes sense and set time limits and goals.

Once items were purged, my brother and I worked over the phone to determine the remaining storage needs, and planned a shopping trip as a bit of a reward for all of the hard work. Items we addressed: bedding, a work area, clothing storage, media storage and a few finishing touches. This of course, is always my favorite part. Tip number three: Reward your efforts. Whether a trip to a local frozen yogurt joint or a shopping trip for a few new items, that hard work purging and condensing deserves a high five!

Although we did a bit of shopping, we also had to be resourceful. Remember, we had a limited budget. We used hand-me-downs, many of his existing furniture pieces, some inexpensive purchases and had very limited time to get uber creative {so not much time to scour thrift stores for the perfect pieces, etc...} Of course, I always love a makeover that is magazine and drool worthy, but this is real life stuff and was intended to be practical and useful.

His landlord was a peach and said we could paint! This was music to my ears, as I knew it would instantly give the place a fresh face lift.

And now for the magical blog after pictures. After a combined 18 hours of work over four different visits, here is what we ended up with:

It was important for me to create a defined entry. I added hooks for his pup's belongings, re-purposed his existing dresser by adding a fresh coat of paint {leftover from my lower level walls} to create shoe and snowboarding gear storage, gave him some hooks for his backpack and jacket, some lighting, a mirror to not only reflect in some light, but to also act as a quick place to check himself out before heading to school, and a place to manage some paper clutter such as mail and magazines {please ignore the fact that my hubster mis-measured the magazine holder, it was late, he was tired, and we decided it wasn't worth new holes}.

The tray was a simple white platter that received some vinyl love to bring in a smidge of color.

The entry opens into his kitchen, which was originally the dumping ground for the majority of his belongings.

In this room, I started out by priming and painting his previous oak table. The legs are the same leftover basement wall paint that I also used on the entry dresser {Behr's Reflecting Pool} and the top is chalkboard paint. His favorite colors are black and blue, so I made sure to bring those colors in as often as possible, and no more fun way to go with black, than by using chalkboard paint!

Although in the photos, the table is designed for a quick bite of breakfast or dinner, I imagine him also being able to invite some friends over for games, and using the chalkboard tabletop as an awesome built in way to keep score...

The back corner seemed to be lacking in storage, so I added a floating shelf {also landlord approved, it's always important to check into that before just assuming}.

The shelf and brackets were just a couple of dollars from IKEA, and really use the wall space nicely. The below curtain was my quickie no-sew way of using some of our leftover fabric {from the boy's headboard project}, to conceal his oversized vacuum.

Of course, I wanted to paint the cabinets and add a tile backsplash, but he will most likely only be living there a year and it is a rental, so I had to be selective about how I spent his money.

Another inexpensive shelf above the sink added some additional storage, as did adding a rail to hang his utensils {to free up some counter space}. Sometimes, the small touches, like the soap dispenser, make the biggest differences.

The apartment has two big areas, the kitchen/dining/entry, and a bedroom/office/living room.

When he moved in, he popped his bed up on slats that were too m m long, used childhood bedding and had a garment rack to store his clothing. After I got my paws on the space, he was left with an armoire closet, a workspace and some inexpensive bedding that made a world of difference!

The armoire was actually this one from IKEA, and I will be sure to do another post on how we gave it a bit of a face lift, but the front was covered in chalkboard paint to give him a place to jot down his weekly notes and schedule. This was a key element for me to address since being a college student requires you to remember so many things, and be in so many places {or keep track of all those dates right?!}

Since we found a small parson's desk {$50 from Walmart}, another cheapo shelf from IKEA above, doubled his surface/storage space. The top shelf is great for holding all of his school books, allowing him to use the desk for homework.

The bed is on risers to allow for him to gain even more storage. That meant that the few things that did stay, were able to be tucked under his bed, and also stashed in a few bins that were stacked and now double as a hidden nightstand for his lamp {which was a spray painted hand-me-down}.

The bedding was $25 from Target and the throw pillow was a bit of a splurge at around $15, but it made a great deal of difference and added in some nice color. I was quite happy that they had a lot of back-to-college sales and deals.

On the other side of the room, he had some hand-me-down lamps and lacked electronic storage...

The chest of drawers was found on sale at Kirklands and was the perfect "manly" addition, and now houses all of his electronics, movies and games. I think it is by far our favorite item in the whole apartment.

Kirkland's actually worked with me to help "Ace His Space", and sponsored a few of the purchases, including the chest of drawers, more on that in an upcoming post so stay tuned for that and an awesome giveaway coming soon!

There were so many challenges to this space, like baseboard heaters {which can be turned on individually so there is no worrying about the electronics against the one wall}, the lack of built in storage {zero closets in this space}, un-level floors and walls {everything had to be shimmed}, a total of two rooms to act as five different types of spaces {kitchen, dining, office, bedroom and living room} but in the end, it all pulled together. Whew.

The most important part of the process was to be able to provide him with items that he would be able to continue to take with him place after place. Paint was the only thing we did that can't move with him in the future, and that was kindly reimbursed by the landlord.

So, that is what I was up to last week. How about you? Anyone do a complete space overhaul in a very short amount of time or have a pesky younger sibling that you would now doing anything for? What other tips do you have for small space living or organized college life?

Oh, that is so fantastic. How special to do that for your brother. You did an amazing job. I was just staring at the gray and white duvet at Target today. But alas, no where to put it. Hard to pass up! Well done, friend. so special.

Great re-do! My daughter is moving into a studio apartment next week and we'll be visiting (to bring the stuff she left here and help her organize and buy her stuff, lol.) You've given me some good ideas!

What a lucky brother you have! Let's just say that as a college-aged girl, if a guy (friend or otherwise) brought me to his apartment and I walked in to see this, I'd be completely dumbfounded! I can't believe how much better the kitchen looks with just those few minor changes - even the cabinets look fresher as they play off the blue walls!

Also,I bought the gray striped duvet cover from Target a few months ago - love it, but it's pretty dainty - make sure your brother has it professionally cleaned or uses a GOOD washer on gentle cycle - we got really bad snags and pilling on our last RoomEssentials duvet cover. Learned that lesson...Again, amazing job! I can't get over it!

Jen, His apartment is great. It is so nice he was able to paint...makes such a huge difference. My favorite part if your use of chalkboard paint on the table and wardrobe...great functionality and perfect for a guy whose favorite color is black.

I would be shocked if a college student had that nice a place. Wow. Way to go!

I used to live in Arkansas and we had a Kirkland's there. It's where I got most of my decor and I freaking LOVED that store. Now I live in Utah and go figure, there are no Kirkland's here. I am having withdrawals now.

What a fabulous transformation, how you achieved all of that in so little time, even with everyone pulling together and helping, is amazing. I'm sure your brother will look forward to coming home each day, it is so fresh and welcoming now. You have thought of everything and organised the space to the max.

Awww you are such a great older sister, I wish you were my older sis too. Wow, you did an amazing job Jen! You never cease to impress me! Amazing!!! Two questions, how did you get so much lighting in the after pictures? the before pictures have such poor lighting to them, it couldn't just be the camera could it? Also, where on earth did you get that rack to hold books on the top shelf in his bedroom? I have been searching high and low for one! xoxoClaudia

Thanks friends! The pictures are much more crisp and bright because the before pictures were ones he texted me from his cell phone when we were first chatting about me helping him out. The afters were taken with a DSLR on a tripod with a longer shutter speed, so they are much more bright.

The book rack was actually found at Target on an end cap {but not online}, however, I have also seen them at SeeJaneWork.com: https://www.seejanework.com/productcart/pc/See-Jane-Work-Basic-Desktop-Organizer-105p1545.htm

As for our project... we emptied our living room (contents all over from the garage, to the den, dining even a few pieces in our bedroom). We were supposed to have new carpet installed in our living room by a local place in Woodbury. No show! They goofed the scheduling and didn't show at their 9-10 am time frame. I called.. she said they would be out between 3-5 this afternoon... again, no show. I think I need to get my money back and go else where.

Jen, who have you used that you like for carpet install, reasonable prices, good selection, good quality.

We have worked with Home Depot for carpet installs in the past, and they have always been great to work with and we have always been quite happy with the results. Hope you were able to get it all worked out!

Oh my gosh. Thank you thank you THANK YOU for posting this! I just found your blog through Cait at Fierce, Fabulous and Fit and I LOVE your blog! Or I suppose I should say IHeart it :) I looked at your home tour last night (it's gorgeous, by the way), but found myself feeling inspired, but then thinking, "What do I do with my teeny tiny apartment?! I just got married this year and my husband and I live in a small city apartment. This is so helpful!! Thank you so much!

"Oh my!" is what I kept repeating to myself as I scrolled down to see the next beautiful before and after photo. You are so right, START off the year right instead of studying in a mess. Wow, you did an exceptional job. I would add a tip as well---although in your case, this was a huge job done with a very quickly approaching deadline, and this tip might be more suited for a job with more of an arbitrary deadline, but here it is: Give yourself a victory when you begin to burn out. Sometimes certain parts of a project take logical precedence, but there are times when you need to put the logical job aside and do a job that will give you a quick and easy "return" of enjoyment or pleasure (the victory!) like setting up your entertainment system before tackling your entire kitchen after a move. Your brother is set up for success! -Anita Y. in southern California

I love this so much! I'm jealous he was able to paint. I'm pretty sure our complex would let us paint, but it's not worth the hassle of having to paint it all back to white when we move out. I love all of your storage ideas and the new furniture and everything! I'm so glad you did a post on decorating small apartment spaces. :)

What an amazing transformation! And how much nicer for your brother to be able to study in an organized space! Makes a huge difference! Love the blue paint on the walls...and I'm not even a blue person!

Awww, that is too sweet. I wish it was as magical as I can make it out to be on the blog {quick one day before and after story}! :) It was a lot of work and I absolutely rested for a day after, but it was sooo worth it.

Wow! What an amazing makeover. I'm sure your brother is really happy with what you and your hubby have done for him. I'm curious as to know you go about making over rooms? What are the steps you take to decide what you need to purchase and where things will go?

Here is a project planner that I find myself using as a reference when taking on a big project: http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2012/06/planning-organizing-project-and.html

I always try to make a mood board to get an idea of what I would like the space to look like as well, which helps a lot. It all comes down to assessing storage needs and then scouring the web for inexpensive solutions.

omg! it's pretty hard to see that it is the same space because you really did an awesome job!! with a limited amount of time? whew!how lucky the brother is!! can you be my big sister? please...please...lol!!

i bet the younger brother will not be reading your private journals and listen to your phone conversations anymore...he owes you big time!!

What are riser's?I have a (small) two two room apartment (not including kitchen abd bathroom and have no idea how to organize it (I have clutter everywhere!) can rerader's send u photo's of spaces for help organizing?

Great question! They are actually just small plastic brick-like items that you prop your bed on to raise it and add additional storage space. You can find them online here: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=bed+risers&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&biw=1366&bih=591&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9311316656449151432&sa=X&ei=fJNFUP2XM8SUqwHvp4CwCQ&ved=0CGQQ8wIwAA

You can always submit photos/questions {see how in the Contact Me tab above}, however, since I am blessed with oodles of questions on a daily basis, I only have capacity to select a few here and there to answer via blog posts as time permits.

This looks incredible! You gave me some great storage and money saving ideas for my NYC apartment... although I'm not a college student, living in NYC puts you sort of in the same frame of mind and budget as one so this was very helpful! Thanks!

I'm a student too and have been living in the same place (bedroom in a shared house) for one year already. It's totally not equipped to be a good space for anyone. Huge bed, huge wardrobe, huge chair that should be in someone's living space, NOT a bedroom. This summer I have been trying to sort it out a bit, reading fabulous blogs such as yours for hints and tips on storage and living in a room like this. So far I've cleared out loads of clutter and visited Ikea to get a few more shelves and bits of furniture to sort the storage issues out. Just need to get the landlord to put up some shelves too and I should be set for this academic year!

This amazing article has inspired me with a few more ideas so thanks SOOOOOOO much!

Hi Jen! You did a fantastic job on your brother's place! He's super lucky to have you as a sister. I was at Target today and recognized so many of the items you used (ie. textbook rack above his desk). You totally succeeded in making it homey without it looking too "cute." I'm sure your brother appreciated that hehe.

I just did a small makeover in our family room too. I thought I was done, but now you have me contemplating using that wall color! ;) http://enjoyerofgrace.blogspot.com/2012/08/b-family-room-makeover-winner.html

Love what you did to your home! What a big difference, i like that you decorated certain pieces in black, reminds me of this (www.eieihome.com/blog/how-to-decorate-with-black.html), very masculine and bold. Great job!

Last week I spent the entire week trying to help my mom with her house. The problem is she is a hoarder and no matter how much stuff we got rid of.... there's still so much left. Unfortunately we didn't get it all done as I had hoped, because I had to come back for a doctor's appointment (we live in different cities) On the upside, I feel a little better about my own house, which is perhaps cluttered but not too bad!

Wow! I wish I had a big sister when I was apartment hunting. So many of the spaces I saw were big projects, but looking at what you accomplished ... they probably would have worked! That landlord should be excited about all the additions. Will make it easier for him to rent again.

The book rack was actually found at Target on an end cap {but not online}, however, I have also seen them at SeeJaneWork.com: https://www.seejanework.com/productcart/pc/See-Jane-Work-Basic-Desktop-Organizer-105p1545.htm

Great minds think alike, I agree, we needed something for above the stove, just didn't have anything on hand. Also, we tried to mount the snowboards, but they stuck out too far, so we are on the search for the perfect hardware to try again. :)

Hi there Jen - again, an amazing job, you really have quite a talent. I'm wondering if there is a specific type of paint to use on the wardrobe? I see you used chalboard, however is it acrylic? does it scratch easily? any information in that area would be so helpful. I'm hoping to work on my son's room.. it's so dark, but now after I see this I think --- "why didn't I THINK of that?!!!" I can paint his items to lighten some of them up a bit! and while I'm at it - I can do the great wardrobe idea of using chalkboard paint!

I used basic Rustoleum chalkboard paint, I have used it for many projects. I haven't had luck with it when using chalk pens, but regular ol' chalk works great, and I just clean it up with a web microfiber rag.

The chalkboard paint comes in a variety of colors now, it's just important to read the "how to apply" instructions on the back of the can.

This is very cool and helpful. I live in an apartment and often feel overwhelmed with keeping such a small space organized...and so the result is I don't. :) I look forward to trying out some of this stuff in my own endeavor to get my small space organized.

I LOVE this...I had to move into an apartment 2 hours from home with a weeks notice so totally hear you on the challenges. I totally agree that the key to organizing and keeping it organized is that everything needs to have a place from the start. I would actually enjoy an update on this - I've rarely seen such a well designed, CLEAN, male only home! Apts in my college city usually had a min of 4 bedrooms (remodeled victorian town homes) so the all guy ones were...interesting. Landlords worst nightmare - or best, because they got to keep all their deposits.

I'm jealous his landlord is so awesome. I'm going to have to re paint everything I've painted and screwed into my walls when I move out, but I decided as I'm going to be here 18months its worth it.

If you ever read comments this late: where did you get the doggie hooks? SO CUTE!

Sigh, the update is that his lease is up and he is now living with his girlfriend! Must have been the organized apartment that convinced her he was so awesome. ;) Good news is that he was able to take everything with him except for the blue walls.

I just came across your blog as I was searching for ideas on what to do with some of my tiny spaces. I think your ideas turned out great. The space really looks professional, like straight out of a magazine. Thanks for sharing :)

Well, since you asked ... LoL. I also just remade a little space in my apartment, though it doesn't look as professional as yours does. I remade a little nook into a mudroom and used the old shelves to build a little bench for me and some of my shoes. I also fake painted some bricks on the walls. I always thought that bricks would be so difficult to pull off but they don't really have to look real to be able to pull off the illusion.

Amazing!!! I do have a question for you and you may not know but we have been looking for a dresser for our dvd's. We have over 1000, I know right, what? Anyway do you know how many dvd's that dresser will hold?

I am a part time working mom Have 2 girls one 4 years old and a 1 yr old. The girls share a room.

I live in 2 bedroom 2 bath I don't like clutter how i have space to put things away. As on my walls i dont have lots of stuff. I need help how to organize without costing me so much money and not having to buy bins

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